Lessons from World Class Companies in Integrated Marketing and Communications

by Anders Gronstedt Ph.D.

Author Gronstedt shows how world-class companies better serve customers and stakeholders by integrating marketing and communications along three dimensions: between the company and its customers and stakeholders; across the different managerial levels; and across the different business and geographic units of the company.

Many companies who claim to have “relationships” with their customers mistake collecting data about customers with actually knowing them. The authors explain how to differentiate between true relationship businesses and what they call “encounter” businesses. They then show how many of the best companies reject “pseudo-relationships” in favor of enhanced encounters.